Jack leg pulley



Feb. 23, 1954 A. DE WOLF 2,670,178

JACK LEG PULLEY Filed July 1, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet l 40 34 7o 08 L J2 1, INVENTOR. fizz/4M 2! 11 01;

BY 6 i A. DE WOLF JACK LEG PULLEY Feb. 23, 1954 2 shets-sheet 2 Filed July 1, 1950 M 0 m QYWM/ B A 770 AM Ks Patented Feb. 23, 1954 JACK LEG PULLEY Allan De Wolf, Ferndale, Mich., assignor, by direct .and mesne assignments, to Walter C. Clevenger,

Royal Oak, Mich.

Application July 1, 1950, Serial No. 171,623 I This invention relates to sewer cleaning apparatus and, more particularly, to a jack leg pulley adapted 'for arrangement within the flush tank of a sewage system.

It is an object of this invention to provide a jack leg pulley of simple construction and of a rigid portable design.

A further object of this invention resides in the provision of a jack leg pulley which is adapted to be fixedly secured within a flush tank of a sewage system to permit guiding of a cable through the sewer from the drum of a winch disposed at ground level above the flush tank.

In the drawings: I

Fig. 1 is a side view of the jack leg pulley of this invention.

Fig. 2 is a view of the jack leg pulley taken at right angles to Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic sectional view of a sewage system including a flush tank anda manhole and illustrating the mode of use of the jack leg pulley of this invention.

Fig. lis a vertical section through tank illustrated in Fig. 3. i

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section through the flush tank illustrated in Fig. 3.

The jack leg pulley of this invention isparticularly adapted for cleaning the sewer crock the flush extending between a manhole and a flush tank at the high end of the sewer line. In the drawings I have shown, for the purpose of illustration, a manhole generally referenced as [0, a flush tank [2 and a sewer crock I4 extending between and connecting the flush tank with the manhole. Flush tank 12 has a circular sidewall It providing an opening 18 at the upper end thereof. A steel pipe 20 projects into tank I 2 adjacent the bottom thereof. The sewer crocks M extend from the outer end of pipe 20 to the inlet 22 of manhole it. 20 is provided with a flange 24 on which a cover plate (not shown) may be secured.

As is conventional in flush tanks of this general construction, pipe 20 lies in a recess 26 at the bottom of the flush tank, the recess-26 providing a centrally disposed trench in the bottom wall 28 of the flush tank so that the pipe 26 is disposed below the level of the bottom wall of the tank. A trap 30 is connected with pipe 20 and extends at its upper end above the bottom 28 of tank 52. The open end of trap 30 is provided with a loosely fitting bell cap 32. A bypass conduit 34 connects at one end with pipe 20 and at its other end the by-pass conduit 3 lopens into flush tank H2 at a point spaced above the The inner end of pipe secured over flange 24 of bottom wall 28 of the tank. A conduit 36 pro- 1 Claim. (Cl. 254) jects through the sidewall l6 and into flush tank I2 at a level spaced slightly above the inlet of by-pass conduit 34. Conduit 36 is connected with a source of water.

In a sewage arrangement of sewer lines are flushed every 24 hours.

this type, the periodically, for instance, This is accomplished by admitting water into flush tank I2 through conduit 36. It will be appreciated that, withbell cap 32 seated on trap 30 and with the-cover plate pipe 20, the Water level [2 until it reaches a level where the pressure of the water is sufiicient to raise bell cap 32 off the end of trap 30 and thereby permit the water to rush through trap 30, pipe 20 and sewer crock i4 through the manhole ill and then through th'esucce'eding manholes will rise in flush tank along the lower'end of the sewer line. B'y-pass conduit 34 is provided as a safety measure in fails, for some reason or case the bell cap 32 other, to function.

The periodic flushing of the sewer line as above described is conducive to the maintenance of unobstructed sewer lines. It infrequently happens, however, that an accumulation of silt and other matter in the sewer line seriously impairs the free flow of sewage, and it therefore becomes necessary to clean out the sewer lines [4 by a method more effective than simply flushing. The customary procedure is to clean these sewer lines by means of a bucket 38 or the like Which is drawn through the sewer line from the manhole ill to the flush tank l2 by means of a cable 40 which is operated by a suitable power winch 42 disposed at ground level, over opening 18. This cleaning operation, of course, necessitates the removal of the cover plate from the flange 2'4 at the inner end of pipe 20 for the introductio of cable 40 through the end of pipe 20.

One of the difficulties invariably encountered in this method of cleaning sewers resides in the inability to properly guide the cable All through the sewer line from the flush tank end of the line. This difficulty results primarily from the fact that the pipe 23 is disposed 26 below thebottom wall 28 of the The jack leg pulley of this invention primarily for this purpose and, as is in Fig. 1, generally comprises a pair or telescoping tubular members 44 and 46. Tubular member 44 is provided with a plurality of longitudinally spaced openings 48 through which a bolt 50 may be inserted so that the members 44 and 46 can be arranged in positions.

is designed within the trench flush tank.

illustrated a plurality of extended ber 44 as by a circumferential weld 54. Pulley block 52 comprises a generally rectangular frame 56 provided with a transversely extending pin 58 on which a pulley 60 is journalled for rotation. Spacers 62 are arranged on pin 58 between the sidewalls of pulley 60 and the sides of frame 55. Spacers U2 serve to maintain pulley 50 in align ment with thelongitudinal axis of members 44 and 4B. In other words, pulley 60 is centrally mounted with respect to the axis of members 44 and 45 so that, when a cable is guided through the pulley, the force thereof does not tend'totilt or twist the assembly.

Within the outer end of 'member 46 there is arranged a threaded shaft 64 on which is threadedly engaged a nut member 66 provided with opposed handles 68. The outer end of shaft 64 is wedge shaped and terminates in a rather sharp point. Nut 86 bears against the outer end of tubular member 46; and the arrangement is such that, when the wedge shaped end 19 of shaft 64 is prevented from turning, the nut 66 may be turned in either one direction or the other by means of handles 68 to move shaft 64 axially inwardly or outwardly of tubular member 45.

A projecting member 12 is welded, or otherwise suitably secured, to the frame 56 of pulley block 52 at a point opposite the connection of tubular member 44 with the frame 56. The projecting member 12 terminates in a flat blade portion 14. Member 12 is secured to frame 56 such that the blade I4 is substantially perpendicular to the plane of pulley wheel 60. The wedge shaped portion Ill and the projecting member 12 form a pair of foot members at opposite ends of the assembly which enable rigidly supporting the assembly in a desired position within the flush tank [2.

The manner in which the jack leg pulley of this invention is arranged within the flush tank is best illustrated in Fig. 3. The assembly is positioned within the flush tank with the flat blade M of foot member 12 disposed against the corner formed by the bottom wall 16 of trench 26 in the sidewall [E of the flush tank. In the opposite sidewall of the flush tank there is chiselled a small groove as at 18 in which the wedge shaped member 10 may be engaged. The assembly is inclined, as shown in Fig. 3, such that the bottom run of the pulley is aligned axially with pipe 20. Nut 66 is then turned in the proper direction to force the wedge portion 10 into groove 18 and thereby effectively lock the assembly in the inclined position illustrated. .A conventional manhole pulley block 79 may be similiary arranged in the manhole l0. v

When it is desired to clean the sewer crock l4 extending betweenmanhole i0 and flush tank l2, a relatively light cable 80 is guided from manhole I0 through sewer pipe l4 to the flush tank I2. Cable 80 is guided around the pulley 19 in the manhole and through the pulley of the jack leg in the flush tank and is extended upwardly through the opening l8 of flush tank l2. Cable 80 is then connected with the end ofcable 40,.and the winch 42 at the manhole is then operated to wind up cable 80 and thereby pull cable 40 through the sewer and into the manhole. Cables 80 and 40 are provided at their free ends with connectors 84 which are preferably in the shape of a clevis which permits the ends of the cables to be readily connected or disconnected. It will be observed that sufiicient clearance 86 is provided between each pulley ahcl pulley block so that the cables, together with the .clevis members, may

be passed therethrough. After the end of cable 40 is pulled through to manhole ID, the cables are disconnected and the bucket member 38 is connected between the cables. Bucket 38 has a bottom arranged as a pair of pivotal half sections 39 which close when the bucket is pulled in the direction of manhole I]! ai'id which open when the bucket is pulled in the direction of flush tank I2. Winch 42 at flush tank 12 is operated to wind on cable 40 and thereby pull bucket 38 with its bottom sections 39 closed through sewer Hi. The bucket 38 collects the silt and other accumulations in thesewer line I4.

It will thus be seen that the jack leg pulley of this invention isadmirably suited for cleaning sewer lines. Its construction is such that it may be rigidly'flxed within a flush tank or a manhole with the pulley aligned with the sewer line even though the sewer line enters the flush tank through a trench at the bottom of the tank. The pointed wedge shaped foot portion 10, together with the threaded shaft 64 and nut 66, enables locking of the assembly very rigidly in most any type of manhole or flush tank. At the same time, the flat blade portion 14 of the foot 12 prevents the pulley for tilting when the bucket 38 is pulled through the sewer line. I'he possibility of tilting of the assembly is further prevented by mounting the pulley iiil in alignment with the axis of member 44 and 46.

I claim:

A jack leg pulley comprising an extensible member, means for extending said extensible member to increase the efiective length thereof, said extensible member having an elongate open frame fixed to one end thereof a pulley wheel mounted in said open frame to rotate on an axis intersecting and perpendicular to the axis of said extensible member, the axis of said extensible member lying in the plane of said pulley wheel, said frame and pulley wheel providing an opening therebetween through which a cable engaging said pulley wheel may be extended, said frame having a foot member fixedly mounted thereon at the end thereof opposite the connection between said frame and said extensible member, said foot member extending generally axially of said extensible member and terminating at its free end in a blade having a straight edge which is perpendicular to the axis of said extensible member and generally parallel to the axis of rotation of-said pulley wheel, a second foot member mounted at the other end of said extensible member, a threaded screw operatively associated with saidlast mentioned foot member, and a nut threaded on said screw and operatively associated with said extensible member so that when the nut is turned said last mentioned foot memher is moved longitudinally of said extensible member, said last mentioned foot member terminating at its free endin a blade portion having a substantially straight edge which extends generally perpendicular to the axis of said extensible member.

ALLAN DE WOLF.

References Cited in'the me of this atent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

